Clip means for holding inserts in molds

ABSTRACT

A hot top assembly for an ingot mold, the assembly including a number of side boards suspended from the top of the ingot mold downwardly along the inside surfaces of the mold, each of the side boards having downwardly and outwardly inclined edges and a clip having V-shaped end walls which are adapted to matingly engage the inner corners of adjacent edges of the side boards, the clip on being forced downwardly provides an outward bias to the suspended side boards.

United States Patent 1191 Atkinson July 31, 1973 [5 CLIP MEANS FOR HOLDING INSERTS IN 3,391,896 7/1968 Lobstein e131. 249/106 Moms 3,421,731 1/1969 [(0011 61 a1. 249/197 3,713,621 1/1973 Davidson 249/106 lnventor: Donald C. Atkinson, Ellwood City,

Assignee: Universal Retractories Corporation,

Milwaukee, Wis.

Filed: July 29, 1971 Appl. No.: 167,202

11.8. C1. 249/106, 249/202 Int. Cl 822d 7/10 Field of Search 249/106, 197-201, 249/202 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1915 Foy 249/48 X Primary ExaminerRobert D. Baldwin Attorney-Ronald E. Barry et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A hot top assembly for an ingot mold, the assembly including a number of side boards suspended from the top of the ingot mold downwardly along the inside surfaces of the mold, each of the side boards having downwardly and outwardly inclined edges and a clip having 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures CLIP MEANS FOR HOLDING INSERTS IN MOLDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ingot molds are generally provided with a hot top assembly around the upper inner portion of the ingot mold to delay cooling of the molten metal confined within the hot top assembly, A number of efforts have been made to prevent the side boards from floating upwardly with the molten metal as the molten metal is poured into the ingot mold. One such assembly is shown in copending application Ser. No. 862,872, filed on Oct. 1, 1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,713,621 entitled Wedge Arrangement for a Hot Top" and assigned to the same assignee. There is also another form of assembly shown in the Koch, et al. US. Pat. No. 3,421,731 and entitled, Hot Top Maintaining System. As pointed out in the copending application, one of the principal objections to the type of arrangement shown in the Koch, et al. patent is the use of the grooves on the inner surfaces of the side boards. In the event the wedges used to force the side boards outwardly are implaced with excessive force, there is a tendency to break the side board. In the copending application an effort was made to overcome this problem by providing clips on the edges of the side boards and a wedge which cooperates with the clips to force the side boards against the inner walls of the ingot mold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The hot top assembly disclosed herein overcomes the above objections by providing an outward bias to the side boards to force the sideboards into engagement with the inside surfaces of the ingot mold. This bias is provided by a clip which has sufficient flexibility to readily adapt itself to any variation in the spacing between the side boards. In this regard, the clip of the present invention includes V-shaped side walls each having one leg which is adapted to engage the inner surface of the side boards and a second leg which is adapted to engage the edge of the side board. As the wedge is forced into the space between the edges of adjacent boards, the side walls are free to bend or give providing an outward bias forcing the side boards against the inner surfaces of the ingot mold. The clip has sufficient flexibility to bow slightly to increase the ouward bias as it is driven into the space between the edges of the side board.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inside of an ingot mold showing the hot top assembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective top view of a portion of one corner of the ingot mold showing the clip in position;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of one comer of the ingot mold showing the clip prior to being driven into position between the side boards;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a section of an ingot mold showing an alternate form of clip for the box top assembly.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of an ingot mold showing an alternate embodiment of the invention with the clip wedged between edges on adjacent Sideboards.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of an ingot mold showing another embodiment of the invention with the clip wedged between edges of the sideboards extending into the corner of the ingot mold.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The hot top assembly 10 of this invention is used to provide a heat insulated area in the upper portion of an ingot mold 12. As is generally understood in the art, the hot top assembly maintains the molten metal within the ingot mold in a molten state for a greater length of time to allow the molten metal to flow into the area of the pipe which forms in the center of the ingot. The ingot mold has an upper surface 14 and downwardly and outwardly inclined inner surfaces 16. This type of an ingot mold is generally referred to as a big end down type of ingot mold.

In accordance with the invention, the hot top assembly 10 includes a number of side boards'or panels 18, each side board having a pair of angle irons 20 having a portion of the angle iron embedded within the side board and the remaining portion of the angle iron extending outwardly from each end of the side board to engage the upper surface 14 of the ingot mold. Each side board generally includes parallel inner surfaces 22 and outer surfaces 24 and an edge 26 at each end. It should be noted that the edges 26 of each panel extend downwardly and outwardly. The panels are suspended in the top of the ingot mold on the inner surfaces 16 of the ingot mold. Since the panels if allowed to hang freely from the top of the ingot mold will be spaced from the inner surfaces 16 of the ingot mold, molten metal can enter this space and cause the panel to float upward with the rising molten metal.

The panels or side boards 18 are molded from a refractory material such as sand and asbestos and are bonded together by any of a number of well known adhesives such as sodium silicate or any of the known resins. If the panels 18 are to be used in an ingot mold for casting steel, an exothermic material is usually incorporated in the panel either as a coating or asa part of the panel. As used herein, an insulating panel refers to a panel either including or not including exothermic material.

. Means are provided for wedging or biasing the side boards 18 into flush engagement with the-inner surfaces 16 of the ingot mold. Such means is in the form of a number of sheet metal clips-30 which are formed from 24 to 26 gauge sheet metal. The clips are forced between the edges 26 of adjacent panels 18 and have sufficient resiliency to readily adapt to variationsin spacing. Each of the clips 30 includes a center panel or plate 32 and a pair of V-shaped side walls 34. Each of the side walls 34 has an inner leg 36 and an outer leg 38. It should be noted that the V-shaped side walls converge downwardly for mating engagement with the edges 26 of adjacent panels. In regard to the converging V-shaped side walls, it should be noted that the outer leg 38 of each of the side walls is adapted to matingly engage the inner surface 22 of the side board. The outer leg 38 is adapted to engage the edge 26 of the side board.

In assembly, the wedges 30 are initially placed in the space between the edges 26 of adjacent side boards 18 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. The wedges 30 are then forced downwardly between the side boards 18, either with a hammer or by hand into tight engagement with the edges of the adjacent boards. As the wedges 30 are driven downward, the V-shaped side walls are free to give slightly and have sufficient flexibility to exert tremendous force against the side boards to hold the side boards in flush engagement with the inner wall 16 of the ingot mold 12.

In the alternate embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, the side boards 40 are suspended by means of hanger clips 42 partially embedded within the side boards 40 and extending outwardly from each end to engage the upper surface 14 of the ingot mold. The edges 44 of each of the side boards are inclined downwardly and outwardly and include an inner beveled portion 46 which is generally parallel to an inner portion 46 of the adjacent panel. The side board includes an inner surface 41 and an outer surface 43 as described above.

Means are provided for forcing the side boards 40 into flush engagement with the inner surfaces of the ingot mold 12. Such means is in the form of a clip 48 having a center or intermediate leg 50 and a pair of side walls. Each side wall 52 includes an inner leg 54 which is positioned to positively engage the inner surface 41 of the sideboards, an intermediate leg 56 which engages the inner portion 46 of the edges and an outer leg 58 which engages the edge 44. It should be noted that the side walls converge downwardly and are initially spaced apart slightly so that they are free to flex inwardly as the clip 48 is driven downwardly between the edges 44 of the panels 40. Once the clip 48 has been firmly seated in the space between the side boards, the intermediate legs 56 will provide an outward bias against the beveled portion 46 to hold the side boards 40 in flush engagement with the inner surfaces of the ingot mold.

In the alternate embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, a smaller portion of the inside corner of the mold 12 is exposed to the molten metal. This is accomplished by means of extensions or protrusion 65pmvided on each edge 64 of the sideboards 60. The sideboards 60 are shown suspended from the top surface 14 of an ingot mold 12 by hanger clips or rods 84. Each sideboard 60 is formed with a downwardly and outwardly inclined edge or abutment 64 on the inner surface 66.0f the sideboard. The outer surface 68 is located adjacent the inside surface 16 of the ingot mold.

The sideboards 60 are wedged tightly against the inside surfaces 16 of the ingot mold by means of the sheet metal clips 30 as discussed above. The outer legs 38 of each clip 30 are aligned with the edges 64 and are forced downward to provide an outward bias to the sideboards. The extensions 65 of the sideboard will be spaced from each other leaving a small portion of the corner exposed.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6, means are provided for completely covering the corner of the mold 12 to protect the surface of the mold. Such means is in the form of an extension or protrusion 80 on the end of the sideboard 82. The sideboards 82 are suspended in the top of the ingot mold 12 by hanger clips 84 as described previously with the ends 86 of the protrusions 80 on the sideboards in abutting engagement. It should be noted that the ends 86 are cut at an angle to extend radially inwardly from the corner of the mold for ease of assembly. The outer surface 90 of the extension 80 is curved slightly at the end for mating engagements with the inside wall of the mold. The sideboards 82 are biased into engagement with the mold walls by means of the clips 30 which are forced downward between the downwardly and outwardly inclined edges 92 of the sideboard 82. The outer legs 38 of the clip 30 will bear against the edge 92 and the center section 32 will bow slightly providing the bias.

I claim:

1. In an ingot mold having downwardly and outwardly inclined inner surfaces, a hot top assembly adapted to be mounted in the upper portion of said ingot mold, said assembly including a number of preformed side boards formed from a heat insulating refractory material,

means for supporting said side boards in the upper portion of said ingot mold with the edges of each side board being located adjacent to the edges of the adjacent side boards in downwardly converging relation,

and a resilient metal clip having V-shaped side walls positioned between and matingly engaging the edges of adjacent side boards for biasing the side boards into flush engagement with the walls of the ingot mold.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the V-shaped side walls of each clip include a first leg adapted to engage the inner surface of the side board and a second leg adapted to engage the edge of the side board.

3. The combination according to claim 1 including means on each edge of said sideboard for reducing the amount of exposed mold surface at the corner of the ingot mold.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said reducing means comprises an extension on each edge of said sideboards.

5. The combination according'to claim 4 wherein said extensions on adjacent sideboards abut at the corner of the ingot mold.

6. The combination of an ingot mold and a hot top assembly formed from a number of insulating panels,

each panel including an angle iron partiallyvembedded in each end and extending outwardly from each end of said panel,

said panels being suspended in the upper portion of said ingot mold in edge adjacent downwardly converging relation, the improvement comprising,

a clip adapted to be wedged between the edges of said panels,

said clip including a resilient center panel and a pair of V-shaped side walls which converge downwardly, whereby said center panel provides a bias force against the side boards after the clip has been wedged into position,

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein each of said side walls includes,

a first leg to matingly engage the inner surface of said panels and a second leg to matingly engage the edges of said panels.

8. The combination according to claim 6 wherein each of the panels has outwardly inclined edges, as portion of each edge being parallel to a portion of the adjacent edge, each of said sidewalls includes a first leg to matingly engage the inner surface of said panel, an intermediate leg to engage the parallel portion of said edge and an outer leg to matingly engage the edges of said side board.

I i i l 

1. In an ingot mold having downwardly and outwardly inclined inner surfaces, a hot top assembly adapted to be mounted in the upper portion of said ingot mold, said assembly including a number of preformed side boards formed from a heat insulating refractory material, means for supporting said side boards in the upper portion of said ingot mold with the edges of each side board being located adjacent to the edges of the adjacent side boards in downwardly converging relation, and a resilient metal clip having V-shaped side walls positioned between and matingly engaging the edges of adjacent side boards for Biasing the side boards into flush engagement with the walls of the ingot mold.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the V-shaped side walls of each clip include a first leg adapted to engage the inner surface of the side board and a second leg adapted to engage the edge of the side board.
 3. The combination according to claim 1 including means on each edge of said sideboard for reducing the amount of exposed mold surface at the corner of the ingot mold.
 4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said reducing means comprises an extension on each edge of said sideboards.
 5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said extensions on adjacent sideboards abut at the corner of the ingot mold.
 6. The combination of an ingot mold and a hot top assembly formed from a number of insulating panels, each panel including an angle iron partially embedded in each end and extending outwardly from each end of said panel, said panels being suspended in the upper portion of said ingot mold in edge adjacent downwardly converging relation, the improvement comprising, a clip adapted to be wedged between the edges of said panels, said clip including a resilient center panel and a pair of V-shaped side walls which converge downwardly, whereby said center panel provides a bias force against the side boards after the clip has been wedged into position,
 7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein each of said side walls includes, a first leg to matingly engage the inner surface of said panels and a second leg to matingly engage the edges of said panels.
 8. The combination according to claim 6 wherein each of the panels has outwardly inclined edges, a portion of each edge being parallel to a portion of the adjacent edge, each of said sidewalls includes a first leg to matingly engage the inner surface of said panel, an intermediate leg to engage the parallel portion of said edge and an outer leg to matingly engage the edges of said side board. 